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Healthy Homes Standards: what you need to know

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The Residential property team

Becoming law in 2017, the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act establishes regulations to improve the quality of rental housing in New Zealand.

Following public consultation in 2018, the Healthy Homes Standards Regulations were approved by Cabinet on May 13; you can find them here. The compliance timeframes in the regulations require rentals to comply with the regulations in all tenancies entered into after July 1, 2021 and all rentals will need to comply by July 1, 2024.

The regulations include requirements to:

  • Provide heating in any living room; this heat source must be capable of heating that room to 18°C
  • Ensure insulation either meets the 2008 Building Code or has a minimum thickness of 120mm
  • Provide suitable extractor fans in bathrooms and any rooms with an indoor cooktop, and
  • Have a ground moisture barrier if the rental has an enclosed subfloor, ie: you cannot install underfloor insulation.

If you are unsure of how you must comply, we can talk you through what you need to do to so you can beat the rush come 2021.

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